Smoke-preventing device.



No. 693,|I2. Patented Feb. Il, |902.

G. M. CONWAY. SMKE.y PREVENTING DEVICE.

(Application led Mar. 4, 1898.) (un Model.) 2 sheets-sheet No. 693,2. Patented Feb. Il, |902.

' G. M. CONWAY.

SMOKE PREVENTING DEVICE.

(Application led Mar. 4, 1898.)

A(Mnlwodel.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE M. CONWAY, OF MILWAUKEE, XVISCONSIN.

SMOKE-PREVENTING-DEVICE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N0. 693,1 12, dated February 11, 1902.

- Application filed March 4, 1898.

T0 foil whom it may conce-rn:

Be it known that I, GEORGE M. CONWAY, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Milwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee and State of Wisconsin,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Smoke-Preventing Devices; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention relates to devices especially designed for the prevention of smoke from furnaces and the improved combustion of the fuel and hydrocarbons therein contained,whereby the efficiency of said fuel is greatly increased, involving greater economy in its useand the doing away of the nuisance of floating free carbon particles in the gases and other products of combustion escaping therefrom; and to that end it consists in certain peculiarities of construction and combination of parts, all as will be fully set forth hereinafter and subsequen tly claimed.

In the drawings, Figure l is a transverse vertical sectional View through the lower part of ahorizontal-tubular-boiler furnace embodying rny said'improvements, taken on the line l l of Fig. 6 and looking from the interior outward toward the front of the furnace. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view through the casing containing my said improvements, taken on the line 2 2 of Fig. 3. Fig. 3 is a like sectional view through the same parts, taken on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 4: 4 of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a detail view showing a portion of the furnace-front in front of the described casing with theV steam and air controlling devices in elevation. Fig. 6 is a horizontal sectional View of a furnace having my invention applied thereto, taken on the line 6 6 of Fig. I.

Referring to the drawings, A A represent the side walls, B B the Vfront wall, vC the bridge-wall, and D the grate, of a horizontaltubular-boiler furnace of any ordinary construction, the said walls being formed of firebrick and clay, as is usual.

E E represent the feed-openings ,through which fuel is delivered to the grate D, F F the doors thereto, and G G the side Walls or linings of said feed openings shown with perforations therethrough to prevent said Serial No. 672,533. (No model.)

I walls, which are usually of cast-iron, from warping.

In the form offurnace illustrated in the present drawings between the side walls of the two adjacent fuel-openings E E, I arrange the casing H, which contains my said improvements; but it will be understood "that I do not in any way limit my invention to the location named nor to the style of furnace shown, my said invention being applicable to any style of lire-box, boiler, or furnace desired. This casing is preferably made of castiron (though it may be made of fire-clay, brick, or any other suitable material capable of withstanding heat.) and, as shown, is in effect an oblong box with straight parallel top and bottom and side walls, though this again is not material, the shape, arrangement,

l,and location of said casing I-I being such as is applicable to the particular furnace to which it is to be applied.

I represents the cast-iron front of the furnace, and this front forms the closure of the outer end of said casing, while the innerend of said casing is shown at .I and is preferably cast integrally with the four parallel Walls of said-casing already described. 'lhe said inner end J is preferably formed in the shape of the frustum of a four-sided pyramid, as best shown in Fig. l, there being openings a ical bores with their baseor greatest diameter insidev and contracting outwardly, as shown.

K is a steam-pipe projecting through the front casing I of the furnace into the casing H, said pipe being preferably screw-threaded ateach end,vand at the inner end said pipe screws into an injector-head L, having three hollow branches b b b, each branch` .projecting into one of the hereinbefore-named openings ct a a in the said pyramid frustumshaped end J of the casing H. Further, the outer projecting end of each branch h is provided with internal screw-threads tol receive the nozzles c c c, which have corresponding exterior screw-threads at their inner ends,1and these nozzles may be made in series with bores of dierent diameters, so that one set may be substituted for another in order that IOC , at any time nozzlcshaving large or small bores may be used, according to the need in any case, as some furnaces will require a greater discharge of steam over the fire-bed than others. ted with centering-lugs d d, projecting up and down Verticallyaud also laterally (six being shown in the present drawings) to insure that the said injector is properly centered in the adjacent end of the casing H. The said casing is built into the masonry of the furnace at top and bottom, but with air-spaces e e at the sides betweenfthe outer sidesof said casing H and the inner surfaces of the adjacent perforated side walls or linings G Gr of thev fuel-feed openings E E, and the front endsof the walls of said casing (which latter is an open box at the front end) are secured to the furnace-front I by the screws ff, as shown.

M is a valve-casing containing a three-Way tapered plug-Valve N. The inner face of this casing is provided with a channel g, commucating with the central valve-seat and screwihreaded adjacent to its outer end to receive the adjacent end of the steam-pipe K.

O is a damper-plate having holes h h h h ihereth rough,said dam per-plate having a central perforation by means of which it is loosely mounted on the outer end of the steam-pipe K between the outer surface of the furnacefront I and the inner face of the said valvecasing M, and the said holes h h h h are adapted to register with like holes t' 2l through the furnace-front I, leading into the interior of the casing H, so that the supply of air into said casing may be controlled by turning said damper-plate. This damper is turned, as desired, by means of the lugs j j. The said valve-casing M is further provided with an upper Vertical channel k and a lower vertical channel m, each communicating with the described central valve-seat and each channel being further screw-threaded for the reception, respectively, of the steam-inlet pipe P and the discharge-pipe Q, which latter is for carrying off the Water,of condensation which accumulates in the pipes, the said pipe Q leading into the ash-pit below the grate D.

The described plug-valve N'has the usual three way channels transversely therethrough, as best shown in Fig. 3, and one outer projecting end of said plug-valve is.

fitted with a lever or handle R for turning said valve as required, t-he other -end being fitted with a washer n and nut S. The steaminlet pipe P connects with the main steampipe, (not shown,) which connects two or more boilers and takes live steam therefrom at boiler-pressure, so that steam of the proper temperature may always be obtained when any of the connected boilers are in use.

The operation of my invention will be readily understood from the foregoing description of its construction, taken in connection with theaccompanyingdrawings. Whentheboiler is fired, the lever R of the three-way valveN is thrown into a horizontal position,which The said injector-head L is fitshuts olf the steam from the pipe K and opens the communication through said valve N between pipes P and Q, and the pressure of the steam from the main steam-pipe thus forces the Water of condensation down and out `through the pipe Q into the ash-pit of the furnace. When thishas been accomplished, the lever R is moved from its j ust-described horizontal position `upward into a vertical' posisition, which shuts olf the steam from the pipe Q and opens communication between pipes P and K, and the result is that the steam is forced through the pipe K into the injector-head L and branches h h h thereof and discharged through the injector-nozzles c c c into the tapered openings u, a ct in the end .I ofthe casing'lI. pressure discharged from the small bores of the nozzles c c cinto the larger openings a a a expands, and its velocity produces a partial vacuum in the casing H, and the air fromoutside rushes in through the describedope'nings ft' t' into said casing and mingles with the steam in the said openings a c a., and this 4mixed steam and air passes through said openings over the surface'of the freshly-fired fuel, as shown bythe dotted lines and arrows in Fig. 6. This air that is drawn in'to the casing Hin the manner just described becomes heated in its.passage-therethrough, for the reason that the side walls of the said casin gV absorb heat from the furnace and radiate said heat on. the inside, in addition to which -the steam passing through vthe pipe K heats the said pipe, which radiates heat to the surrounding body of air. As the jets of steam mixed withthe heated air pass through the conical openings in the end J of the casing H under a high velocity over the surface of the freshly-tired fuel they produce a partial vacuum in the [ire-box of the furnace, and

The steam under l IOO the air from the ash-pit rushes up through the grate-openings and fixed carbon of the burning fue1,`supplyiug heat and oxygen in connection with that forced over the surface of the freshly-tired fuel, and this serves to ignite the hydrocarbons liberated therefrom, thus increasing the value of the fuel as a heat producer and preventing the formation of smoke and the deposit of free carbon particles on the heating-surfaces of* the boiler. The pipe K can be readily removed when required; but to prevent accidental longitudinal displacement I preferably employ a split collar T, clamped tightly to said pipe by means of screw-bolt U, just inside of the furnace-front I, and this, in connection with the valve-casing M, tightly screwed upon the projecting end of the pipe'K, will serve to keep said pipe and the damper O in place. These streams of mingled steam and hot air are only injected over the fuel each time the furnace is freshly fired, and the operation of my device usually occupies, say, from one to three minutes, according to circumstances, after which the lever or handle R is turned down, as shown in Fig. 5, which shuts off the IIO supply of steam, the channels in the valve N being then in the position shown in the sectional view Fig. 3, and the parts thus remain until a fresh firing ot' the furnace becomes necessary.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

41. In a device for preventing smoke and increasing the combustion of fuel in furnaces, the combination of a casing arranged exterior to said furnace but having one end projecting therein above the fire-bed, said inner end having openings therethrough, and the other end of said casing being closed but provided with a series of draft-openings therethrough; a steam-pipe extending longitudinally Within said casing, toward the inner end thereof; and adapted to discharge steam through said openings in the inner end of said casing; a valve-casing exterior to the closed outer' end of said casing, a three-Way.

valve within said valve-casing; a valve-controlled pipe leading from a source of steamsupply to said valve-casing; a steam-outlet pipe leading therefrom; a damper-plate loosely mounted on the exterior projecting end of the first-named steam-pipe between the closed outer end of the casing and the adjacent face of the valve-casing, and having holes therethrough adapted to register with the draft-openings through said closed outer end of the said casing; substantially as described.

2. The combination with a furnace having a hole in one wall thereof, of a perforated front plate closing said hole in the wall, a casing located in said hole and having an open outer end secured to said front plate and supported by said front plate which constitutes a closure therefor, and having an opening in its inner end, a steam-pipe extending longitudinally into said casing through an opening in said front plate, and adapted to discharge steam through said openings in the inner end of the casing, a damper-plate mounted to turn on said steam-pipe adjacent said front plate and having perforations adapted to register with the perforations in the front plate,

.substantially as described.

3. The combination with a furnace having a hole in one Wall thereof, of a perforated front plate closing said hole, an open-ended casinglocated in said hole in the furnace-wall, said open end being secured to said front plate Whichconstitutes a closure therefor, a steam-pipe extending through a hole in said front plate into said casing and supported by front plate, and adapted to discharge steam through an opening or openings in the inner end of said casing, a valve-casing on said pipe outside said front plate, a dampenplate loosely mounted on said pipe between said valve-Casin g and said front plate Which valvecasing and plate hold the damper in proper position, and having perforations therethrough adapted to register with the perforations in the front plate, substantially as described.

4. The combination with a furnace having a hole in one wall thereof, of a perforated front plate secured to the outside face of the Wall vand closing said hole in the Wall, an elongated casing located in said hole and having an open outer end detachably secured to said front plate which constitutes a closure therefor, and having air-openings in its inner end, a steam-pipe extending longitudinally into said casing through an opening in said front plate, an injector-head on said pipe having nozzles adapted to direct steam through said openings in the casing, means for supporting said head inthe casin g with the nozzles opposite said openings in the casing end, a damper-plate mounted to turn on said steam-pipe adjacent said front plate and having perfo= rations adapted to register with the perfora tions in the front plate, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand, at Milwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee and State of Wisconsin, in the presence of two Witnesses.

GEORGE M. CONWAY.

Vitnesses:

H. G. UNDERWOOD, N. E. OLIPHANT. 

